The day that never ended
by ariel42
Summary: This is a story of Michelle and Tony from the end of season 2 going on their first date and the events from there on in!


Authors Note: Ok Hi! So this is the first piece of fan fac i have EVER written - I have a story line idea and this is just the beginning - i would love to get some feedback on it but please be nice- constructive but nice! Of course I don't own any of the characters they are property of Fox - no infringement intended! Thanks enjoy!!

Michelle stood at the base of the stairs leading up to Tony's office and stared to the feint light reflecting off the blinds. The sun had been up for a while in Los Angeles and it was that perfect time when the red haze came seeping through the window and bounced through the office. She could see Tony talking to Chappelle as he gathered up his papers on the desk and made his way for the door.

Tony looked out onto the open office space beneath him and the sunlight peeking through the window. He would normally be settling in to his second cup of coffee in the morning at his desk at this time – but not today. Today instead of preparing for the day yet to come, he was closing from the day that felt like it never ended, and finally heading home.

'There you go Tony. I'll see you tomorrow….. ' Chappelle said as he cleared the work from Tony's desk and headed towards the door. Tony snapped out of his temporary gaze and looked sharply at Chappelle. He gave him a half smirk – half 'just get out of my office' look and walked over to sit down in his black leather chair behind his long glass top desk and took a big sigh.

Michelle saw Chappelle coming out of Tony's office and heading down the stairs. He looked up and saw her just standing there looking aimlessly at the base of the stairs. Today had been a tough day for all of them, one that they wouldn't forget in a long time. Chappelle made his way down the stairs as Michelle began to climb the first couple of steps. Chappelle attempted to engage Michelle in conversation as they met part way and gave her that awkward 'well done' type of look. "Michelle… er…. Today was…. I just wanted to say….." He stammered. Michelle just smiled her sweet polite smile at him and said "Thanks Ryan." He nodded and moved away quickly and was relieved at not having discuss anything further with her. He found it difficult at the best of times to be explicitly nice to his employees, especially after they had just put their own lives on the line to save millions of others from disaster.

Michelle brushed passed Chappelle, thankful that the encounter with him was brief so that she could get up to see Tony. The time spent at the base of the stairs was pondering over what she would say when she got to the door. As she had finished climbing the 18 steps, she found herself at the door still not sure what she had come up to say.

Tony looked up from his desk and saw Michelle approaching the door. He motioned for her to come into the office and couldn't help but get a smirk across his face just by having her in the same room. Michelle saw him motion, smiled and then gazed down at the ground as she entered nervously into the room.

The torments of the day had them both in a state of numbness, not really knowing what to say or how to feel. They had both seen more in the last 24 hours than anyone should have to see in a lifetime. After the bombing of their office, the death of 17 of their co-workers and successfully neutralizing the threat of a nuclear bomb in the city of LA, emotions were running high, even without the tension between the two of them resulting in a passionate kiss earlier on in the day that neither of them could forget.

"Look Michelle, I know what you did out there today and you had some tough calls to make" Tony stated. "I just want you to know that…" he repositioned himself in the chair as he was talking to her, feeling uneasy about what he was saying ".. I put you in some difficult situations with impossible decisions to make, and even though you had to go against me at times, you absolutely made the right choices. In your situation, I would have done the same."

Michelle stood motionless just inside the door of the room and listened to what Tony had to say. Although she hadn't come up here to apologize for her actions of the day, she wanted to ensure that the air was clear between the two of them before she left.

"Thanks Tony…." She muttered. She looked up at him and caught his eye and held his gaze for just a second. As she looked into his hazel brown eyes she felt a tear roll down her left check. She hadn't realized that she was beginning to cry and just wiped away the tear with the back of her hand. Tony saw the tear roll down her cheek and wanted nothing more than to walk over and hold her until her pain went away.

Michelle caught herself and quickly stated "The next shift is here and they have all been brought up to speed. Jack is on his way to the hospital just for a routine check up and Kim has gone with him. I transferred my files across to Samuels and he will continue working on the leads we generated for the origin of the bomb." She finished her sentence and took a deep breath as she had blurted out her words without taking any extra breaths.

"Great" Tony said. Michelle looked at him and once again held his gaze for a brief second before turning quickly on her heels and reaching for the door handle behind her. As she opened the door Tony said "Hey Michelle…" She turned to look at him once again. He broke a big smile across his face and said "See you tomorrow!" Michelle smirked and replied "Yeah, see you tomorrow Tony….." and continued out of the door walking down the steps to the main level of the building.

She looked around and saw the damage from the bomb, took a deep breath and headed through the debris to her locker. She needed to get out of there before she broke down.

Tony watched as Michelle walked down the stairs from his office. He saw her hesitate at the base of the stairs and take a look at the wreckage around her and then make her way out towards the bathrooms. He sat and watched her walk away until she moved out of sight and walked across the room to peer through the blinds and watch her some more. He knew that she was trying to be brave about the situation – as was he! But he also knew that as tired as they were – he didn't want to go home and be alone right now, and he didn't want her to be either.

With that in mind he dove across the desk and grabbed the jacket that he had just drapped across his leather chair and headed for the door. As he climbed quickly down the stairs and rushed through the office he saw Michelle just coming out of the women's bathroom .

"Michelle – wait up!" Michelle heard as she was trying to straighten out the collar on her jacket. She turned to see who was calling her and instantly recognized the voice to be Tony's. 'Oh no' she thought. All she wanted to do was just get out of there. She was on the verge of breaking down and did not want to have to go back and in and finish up on something that she had forgotten to do before she left.

"Michelle!" Tony exclaimed again as he got closer to her. As he got there he realized that he didn't have a plan of what he was going to say so he just started to ramble "So I was thinking – I know that it has been a really long day already, well nearly two days really – and you probably just want to get home and sleep – I know I'm exhausted and you must be too… but I was wondering… if you maybe wanted to grab a cup of coffee?" He stopped talking and looked up with a confused look on his face as he was surprised at what he had just said to her and nervously waited for her reply.

Michelle was slightly shocked at what he had come to ask her. She was relieved that he had though and instantly agreed "Yes…. Yes that would be wonderful!" A big smile came across her face as she saw Tony smiling back at her.

"Ok… give me a second and I'll grab my coat."


End file.
